In defence of the stay-at-home mother

Writer Helen Hayward presents her provocative personal perspective that runs counter to the contention that women can, and should, 'have it all'—work, life and children.

In her essay My Children, My Life she says, 'It’s clear that in my children’s minds I’m a traditional mother (though they would never use that term). This is no mistake. I’ve let them take possession of me over the years, encouraged it even. I’ve wanted them to take me for granted — just as my mother did with my sisters and me.'

Helen Hayward has worked extensively as an editor and university teacher, and is currently the senior writer for the magazine Forty Degrees South.